Posting Of UNRELATED Personal Matters

[EMTbravo 312]

Members,

We've decided to put a ban on the posting of news articles or other information relating to people affilliated with emergency services who get in trouble unrelated to their career or volunteer role.

This community aims to build camraderie and relationships, to promote interagency cooperation, share information and ideas, and highlight the emergency services community.

I feel threads such as the ones described above aren't appropriate for the forum and really have nothing to do with Emergency Services. Often, these frequent threads just turn into a bash-fest, and are counterproductive. There's no need to hype up a media report, and give this person more publicity. There is no need for these types of incidents to be discussed on this forum. To shame someone on here, which seems to be the main purpose of these threads, serves absolutely no purpose, whether guilty or innocent, which is also not up for us to decide.

Any new thread violating this new policy will be deleted by the staff.

-Seth G.

Director Of Development, The EMTBravo Group

On Behalf of the EMTBravo.net Team

[Danger 160]

Pretty much the worst idea I've ever heard, seeing as how the mainstream media roasts us over the coals....and now we can't talk about it amongst ourselves? Two steps back.

[RescueKujo 130]

The moderating team feels that too many of these types of threads just end up with bashing or personal attacks and the thread ends up being closed anyway. This undermines the mission of this site to build camaraderie and serve the public safety community with information and training opportunities. This was well thought out and discussed at length by the team. Thank you for your opinion, but because of the above reason the decision was made.

Duane Kuhlow, Jr.

EMTBravo Associate Moderator

[radioman 5]

"LONG TIME OVER DUE!!" GOOD JOB SETH

[RWC130 594]

VERY good move!

[DOC22 1]

Excellent move!!! We don't need to have that stuff posted here, it does generate bash fests, and it seems that those people are guilty before they see their first day in court.

[AFS1970 504]

Now if we can only get the rest of the media to put a ban on the articles relating to people affilliated with emergency services who get in trouble unrelated to their career or volunteer role. Then we will have made some positive impact.

[INIT915 1,119]

The moderating team feels that too many of these types of threads just end up with bashing or personal attacks and the thread ends up being closed anyway. This undermines the mission of this site to build camaraderie and serve the public safety community with information and training opportunities. This was well thought out and discussed at length by the team. Thank you for your opinion, but because of the above reason the decision was made.

Duane Kuhlow, Jr.

EMTBravo Associate Moderator

It's ironic. It always seemed to me that those posts hardly ever produced much discussion, let alone bashing. They usually garnered a couple of comments and died off. The bashing/personal attacks happened in your "legitimate" posts.

[jack10562 414]

Public forums being what they are, to some extent that is the case, but quite a few responses to these posts have had to be taken offline and removed from public view due to extremely negative comments.

So... site staff discussed the issue and a decision was made to draw the line and ask people not to post these types of articles.

If a news story involves a MOS accused of or caught doing something while on duty or acting in an official capacity, then that's different, members will be able to post and discuss that.

[firecapt32 282]

It is not often that i can disagree witht he decisions of this fourm but--I do have to say that if the everyday news carries a story and it relates to a member of the fire service--even if t was done in an off duty fasion, we the members of the service should be concerned and be able to speak out about it in this fourm. Here we are able to get to a lot of fire service personnel and making them aware of what is happening to them in the news. We should be Be able to discuess it in a orderly and non abusive fasion.

This fourm is dedicated to the emergency response field -anything and everything that has a FD or EMS should be o nthe table for discuession. Personal bashing or fire department bashing should be monitored and controled.

Having said that I enjoy every second that I spend in here. There are a lot of dediciated people that use this fourm to get information across to the firefighting family.

maybe you should have a "stupid people" fourm for thing like that

[EMTbravo 312]

There's nothing to be learned from these threads.

If you are a proponent of these threads highlighting perverts and thieves, what's their to learn from these repeated frequent threads? I think we should all know these types of acts are wrong, and don't need to learn it from the thread. If you need to learn from these threads, then their are other issues!

There's also no need to throw unwarranted embarrasment to a department and their members in a community of their peers for something the likely didn't have any knowledge about or control over.

To reiterate what Jack said, this DOES NOT AFFECT those who act while on duty, or anything that directly relates to emergency services. In addition, if you want to discuss the topic at large without a specific incident, that is also allowed.

[DaRock98 76]

I think it is a great idea.

[firemn23 8]

Seth

I have to completely disagree with you on this. A couple of years ago a Westchester department, not totally sure on the story but had a function at their firehouse were a minor got drunk and into an accident. A lot of municipalities made laws were drinking was not allowed at firehouses because of this. Now because of this website departments in other states can learn from this and be proactive instead of reactive. But this is not a democracy it is a dictatorship and your word is law.

[jack10562 414]

firemn23, That type of incident would certainly be allowed to be posted and discussed, since it is outside the scope of what we're trying to accomplish.

What we're looking to minimize here are stories posted so and so was arrested or whatever, and that trumpet he/she was a volunteer fireman, off duty cop, or whatever, and where their occupation has absolutely NOTHING to do with what they are up against.

It has nothing to do with being a democracy or dictatorship limiting free speech, so I don't know where THAT came from....? :huh:

[PVFD113 6]

Seth

I have to completely disagree with you on this. A couple of years ago a Westchester department, not totally sure on the story but had a function at their firehouse were a minor got drunk and into an accident. A lot of municipalities made laws were drinking was not allowed at firehouses because of this. Now because of this website departments in other states can learn from this and be proactive instead of reactive. But this is not a democracy it is a dictatorship and your word is law.

I think this would fall under the okay to post section as it did occur in a firehouse--am I correct or do I need to be corrected?

[Guest MVFD334]

If your gonna do this then you should bann all threads that pertain to any person in general who commits a crime. If we are going to protect "members of service" then its only fair that the courtesy be passed along to the people we serve.

[firemn23 8]

firemn23, That type of incident would certainly be allowed to be posted and discussed, since it is outside the scope of what we're trying to accomplish.

What we're looking to minimize here are stories posted so and so was arrested or whatever, and that trumpet he/she was a volunteer fireman, off duty cop, or whatever, and where their occupation has absolutely NOTHING to do with what they are up against.

It has nothing to do with being a democracy or dictatorship limiting free speech, so I don't know where THAT came from....? :huh:

THAT came from this is Seth's website and he is free to do what he wants, hence I don't agree but it is his and I don't get a vote. it is not a dig to Seth and I think he knows it.

Edited July 12, 2008 by firemn23

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

Well I have to strongly disagree. If somebody does something wrong whether on or off duty we should have the right to discuss what it is. I have not seen any bashing of any kind with any of these threads. Don't you want to know who you are working with? What if the article is about an off duty incident but also contains what kind of trouble that person has been involved with on duty? I think that goes to show that persons character.

There was an article last night in the paper where an off duty NYPD COP got off charges of a road rage incident after firing his weapon and killing a person. We couldn't discuss that?

[27east 19]

But this is not a democracy it is a dictatorship and your word is law.

Actually this is a privately-owned website. So whatever Seth, the owner of these fourms, wants to restrict or allow or whatever, he can.

[Future Fireman 4]

But this is not a democracy it is a dictatorship and your word is law.

Like it or not, The Firehouse and the Police Station are NOT democracies either.

Mike

[JBE 328]

Maybe it's just me, but seeing stories of an off duty foul up just reminds me that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, both off duty and on duty. I just find it unsettling that when an opinion is posted that a moderator or administrator does not agree with, or may be in the slightest way construed as a bash, either on a person, department, or heaven forbid a member of EMTBravo Management, it is immediately deleted, and/or the discussion closed. You can't take the positive without the negative, and I find this change in policy to be negative.

To Seth, Duane, and the other mods, Sorry, but I'm gonna have to disagree with you on this one and we'll leave it at that.

Edited July 12, 2008 by JBE

[EMTbravo 312]

A couple of years ago a Westchester department, not totally sure on the story but had a function at their firehouse were a minor got drunk and into an accident. A lot of municipalities made laws were drinking was not allowed at firehouses because of this. Now because of this website departments in other states can learn from this and be proactive instead of reactive.

There was an article last night in the paper where an off duty NYPD COP got off charges of a road rage incident after firing his weapon and killing a person. We couldn't discuss that?

If you read what I and the mods above typed previously, these types of incidents described above are ALLOWED to be discussed!

Members can go ahead and post the story if they think it that something could be learned from the discussion, however if it is deemed to be an unrelated personal matter that has NOTHING to do with emergency services, then the thread will be removed, and the member will be contacted as to why. If the member disagrees, the moderators will take their opinion in consideration whether to restore the thread.

Are we going to discuss everyone on this site who cheats on their spouse or gets a divorce? Where do we draw the line? Do we want to gossip?

So everyone is aware, we didn't just wake up yesterday and decide to make this rule. This was discussed and researched for a couple of months. Random members were consulted for their input. We also looked at previous threads relating to this matter, and found them to be unconstructive and of no clear intention.

99.9% of new threads and posts won't be affected by this rule. It's that rare incident every now and then.

I am ending this thread now. There's no need to discuss this any further, I feel the rules is pretty clear, and this discussion is only confusing people.